In the production of access control cards, contactless payment cards (credit/debit), dual interface cards, health cards, national e-ID cards, electronic passports and driving licenses, an “inlay” containing an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chip (typically packaged in a module) and an antenna is manufactured separately from the final product (e.g., electronic passport).
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), plan to develop and implement a card-format passport, a credit-card-size travel document. The Passport Card will be an alternative format document to the traditional book-style passport for presentation at U.S. land border crossings.
The Passport Card shall display the citizen's facial image and biographic information as well as having machine-readable capability compliant with ICAO 9303 and an embedded Radio Frequency (RF)-capable integrated contactless circuit (ICC) and antenna.
The tamper-resistant/counterfeit-resistant Passport Card stock shall have embedded ISO/IEC 18000 6C compliant RF capability.
The embedded integrated contactless circuit (ICC) shall be EPCglobal Class-1 Generation-2 UHF RFID certified and the card shall comply with EPCglobal Class-1 Generation-2 UHF RFID standards.
The conventional method to produce an inlay is to embed insulated wire into a synthetic material or coated substrate, form an antenna with a number of turns and interconnect the wire ends of the antenna to a transponder chip module. Etching and silkscreen printing can also be used to form the antenna, and the interconnection process can be via flip-chip technology. An additional antenna (for inductive coupling) not connected to the RFID chip can also be used to augment the read/write range of the transponder inlay.
The bonding of the IC (integrated circuit) to the chip module and the interconnection of the antenna to the module are critical elements of the electronic passport (for example). Generally, the mechanical resistance of these components are major drivers of durability.
In the case of a “secure” (as used herein, “secure” implies using contactless communication) smart card, the inlay is typically produced by an inlay manufacturer, then it is sent in a “pre-laminated” state to the secure card manufacturer for final lamination with upper & lower printed sheets (integration into the finished product). Similarly, in the production of electronic passports the pre-laminated inlay (hot or cold laminated) is sent to the government printing office for insertion into the passport booklet.
After integration of the inlay into the finished product, personalization (key transfer, programming and initialization) of the secure card (for example) is performed by a personalization bureau or letter-shop, and the individualization of an electronic passport (for example) can either be before or after the printing process, commonly known as pre- & post-personalization at the issuing authority. In the case of electronic passports, national identity cards and driving licenses, the personalization is implemented with a single document printer.
The fact that the personalization (individualization) of the finished product with the user credentials is performed at the end of the value chain means that security issues arise from the loss of chips, inlays and finished products before this final process. In addition, yield loss along the entire production process must be accounted for and securely stored.
Firstly, it can be argued that the RFID chip with encryption technology could be used to store critical data relating to the production process, but this argument is only valid if the transponder functions correctly. Secondly, the critical data could be stored at a certified trust centre or central database and could be accessed by scanning the machine readable zone (OCR-B characters—Optical Character Recognition) on the passport, but this defeats the purpose of an electronic travel document.
Although, the US legislation on border control “Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Entry Act” stated that the countries with which the USA has a visa waiver arrangement should have a biometric passport issuance program. And according to the legislation, these passports need to be tamper-proof machine-readable passports (MRP) that incorporate contactless IC chips, as well as biometric identifiers (facial images, fingerprints, iris scans) that comply with standards established by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), the problem of accountability of the passport in the value chain is not resolved.
The current state of the art for dual transponder cards & inlays is the combination of low (125 KHz) and high (13.56 MHz) frequency devices, primarily for access control, ticketing and vending (micro-payment).
Contactless chip card technology is based on two standards: ISO/IEC 14443 Type A and Type B (for proximity cards), and ISO/IEC 15693 (for vicinity cards). Cards that comply with these standards operate at the 13.56 MHz frequency. ISO/IEC 14443 products have a range of up to 10 cm (centimeters), while ISO/IEC 15693 products can operate at a range between 50 and 70 cm.
As used herein, the word “chip” can encompass many configurations of a silicon die or a packaged chip. The silicon die for example can have metalized bumps to facilitate the direct connection of the wire ends of an antenna to form a transponder or tag device. A package chip can include various structures such as a tape automated bonding module, a chip module, a flip chip module, a lead frame, a chip carrier, a strap, an interposer or any form of packaging to facilitate transponder manufacturing.
The conventional method to produce an inlay site containing a high frequency RFID chip and an antenna embedded into a multi-layer substrate and connected to the terminal areas of the RFID chip, is to embed a wire conductor into the top substrate layer in the direction of the RFID chip residing in a recess and supported by a lower substrate layer, then to guide the wire conductor over the first terminal area of the RFID chip, continue the embedding process by countersinking the wire conductor into the top substrate layer to form an antenna with a given number of turns and then guiding the wire conductor over the second terminal area and finally embedding the wire conductor again into the top substrate layer before cutting the wire to complete the high frequency transponder site. In the next stage of the production process the wire ends passing over the terminal areas are interconnected by means of thermal compression bonding.
An array of transponder sites may be formed on the top substrate layer and the additional layers of substrate form the resulting inlay, for further processing by security printers, contactless smart card and electronic passport manufacturers.
For the purpose of clarity, it is necessary to distinguish between the process of embedding a wire conductor into a substrate layer and the process of placing a wire conductor onto a substrate layer, as well as the apparatus used to implement the procedures.
The process of wire embedding (or scribing) involves the countersinking of a wire conductor into the surface of a substrate. The process of wire placement involves the adhesion of a self-bonding coated wire conductor to the surface of a substrate.
The wire embedding apparatus is an ultrasonic wire guide tool, known as a Sonotrode, with a wire feed channel (capillary) passing through the centre of the wire guide tool. The wire conductor is fed through the wire guide tool, emerges from the tip, and by application of pressure and ultrasonic energy the wire conductor is rubbed into the substrate, resulting in localised heating of the wire conductor and subsequent sinking of the wire conductor into the substrate material during the movement of the wire guide tool.
The wire placement apparatus is also an ultrasonic tool similar in function to an ultrasonic horn which heats the wire to form an adhesion with a substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,089 (“089”), incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, discloses device for bonding a wire conductor. Device for the contacting of a wire conductor (113) in the course of the manufacture of a transponder unit arranged on a substrate (111) and comprising a wire coil (112) and a chip unit (115), wherein in a first phase the wire conductor (113) is guided away via the terminal area (118, 119) or a region accepting the terminal area and is fixed on the substrate (111) relative to the terminal area (118, 119) or the region assigned to the terminal area by a wire guide and a portal, and in a second phase the connection of the wire conductor (113) to the terminal area (118,119) is effected by means of a connecting instrument (125). Attention is directed to the figures and descriptions of FIGS. 1-3 which show a tool for embedding a wire conductor on a substrate. More particularly,                FIG. 1 shows, in a schematic representation, the wiring of a wire conductor 20 on a substrate 21 by means of a wiring device 22 with a wire guide 23 which is subjected to the action of ultrasound.        The wiring device 22 represented in FIG. 1 is designed to be capable of being displaced along three axes and is subjected to the action of ultrasound which stimulates the wire guide 23 to execute oscillating transverse movements (arrow 24), which in the example represented in FIG. 1 are aligned perpendicular to a wiring plane 28 spanned by lateral edges 25, 26 of a substrate surface 27.        For the purpose of wiring, the wire conductor 20 is moved out of a wire-guide nozzle 30 while executing a continuous advancing movement in the direction of the arrow 29, whereby at the same time the wire guide 23 executes a wiring movement 29 which extends parallel to the wiring plane 28 and which in FIG. 1 can be retraced from the course of the wire-conductor section already wired on the substrate 21. On this wiring movement, which extends in the region of the front lateral edge 25 in the direction of the arrow 29, the oscillating transverse movement 24 is superimposed. This results in an impinging or impacting of the wire-guide nozzle 30 on the wire conductor 20 which is repeated in rapid succession corresponding to the ultrasonic frequency, leading to a compression and/or displacement of the substrate material in the region of a contact point 32.        FIG. 2 shows in a sectional representation, which corresponds roughly to the course of the line of intersection II-II indicated in FIG. 1, the embedded arrangement of the wire conductor 20 in the substrate 21. The substrate represented here is a PVC sheet, whereby for the purpose of embedding the wire conductor 20 the wire conductor is subjected via the wiring device 22 to, for example, an ultrasonic power output of 50 W and an ultrasonic frequency of 40 kHz. The contact force with which the wire-guide nozzle 30 is caused to abut the substrate surface 27 may, in the case of the aforementioned substrate material, lie in the range between 100 and 500 N. As is evident from the representation according to FIG. 2, in a test which was carried out by adjusting the aforementioned parameters an embedding of the wire conductor 20 into the substrate 21 was obtained substantially by virtue of a compression of the substrate material in a compression region 33 of the substrate material which here is crescent-shaped.        FIG. 3 shows the wiring device 22 in an individual representation with an ultrasonic generator 34 which is arranged coaxially with respect to the wire guide 23 and is rigidly connected to the latter in a connecting region 35. Overall the wiring device 22 represented in FIG. 3 is of rotationally symmetrical construction. The wire guide 23 comprises a central longitudinal bore 36 which in the region of the wire-guide nozzle 30 merges with a wire capillary 37 which in comparison with the longitudinal bore 36 has a narrowed diameter that is matched to the diameter of the wire conductor 20. The wire-guidance capillary 37 serves primarily to be able to align the wire conductor exactly in the wiring plane 28 (FIG. 1).        Although not represented in any detail in FIG. 3, the wire guide 23 may be equipped with a wire-severing instrument and a wire-advancing instrument        
Further attention is directed in the 089 patent to the following figures and descriptions. Generally, FIGS. 4-7 show card modules and coils formed by the tool. More particularly,                FIG. 4 shows a wire conductor 20 which, for the purpose of forming a coil 41 which in this case takes the form of a high-frequency coil, is wired on a substrate 42. The coil 41 here has a substantially rectangular configuration with an initial coil region 43 and a final coil region 44 which are guided away via a window-shaped substrate recess 45. In this case the initial coil region 43 and the final coil region 44 are in parallel alignment with a main coil strand 46 which they accept between them in the region of the substrate recess 45. In the course of the ultrasonic wiring of the wire conductor 20 already elucidated in principle with reference to FIG. 1 the ultrasonic loading of the wire conductor 20 is interrupted while the latter is being guided away via the substrate recess in the course of the wiring operation, in order on the one hand to ensure no impairment of the alignment of the wire conductor 20 in an unrestrained region 47 between the recess edges 48, 49 located opposite one another and on the other hand in order to rule out stressing of the connection between the wire conductor 20 and the substrate 42 in the region of the recess edges 48, 49 by tensile stresses on the wire conductor 20 as a consequence of ultrasonic loading.        FIG. 5 shows, in a configuration that is modified in comparison with FIG. 4, a coil 50 with an initial coil region 51 and a final coil region 52 which are guided, angled in relation to a main coil strand 53, into an interior region of the coil 50. The coil 50 is arranged on a substrate 55 which comprises a substrate recess 56 in the interior region 53 of the coil 50. In order to be able to guide away both the initial coil region 51 and the final coil region 52 via the substrate recess 56, in the case of the configuration represented in FIG. 5 the final coil region 52 has to be guided away beforehand in a crossing region 57 via the main coil strand 44. In order in this case to prevent damage to or a partial stripping of the wire conductor 20, similarly as in the region of the substrate recess 56 the ultrasonic loading of the wire conductor 20 is interrupted in the crossing region 57. Furthermore, the wire guide 23 is slightly raised in the crossing region 57.        FIG. 6 shows, in a view of the substrate 55 corresponding to the course of the line of intersection VI-VI in FIG. 5, the placement of a chip unit 58 in the substrate recess 56, wherein terminal areas 59 of the chip unit 58 are caused to abut the initial coil region 51 and the final coil region 52.        FIG. 7 shows the subsequent connection of the terminal areas 59 of the chip unit 58 to the initial coil region 51 and to the final coil region 52 by means of a thermode 60 which under the influence of pressure and temperature creates a connection by material closure between the wire conductor 20 and the terminal areas 59, as an overall result of which a card module 64 is formed.        In the case of the chip unit 58 represented in FIGS. 6 and 7 it may also be a question, as in all other remaining cases where mention is made of a chip unit, either of an individual chip or of a chip module which, for instance, comprises a chip which is contacted on a chip substrate or even a plurality of chips. Furthermore, the connection represented in FIGS. 6 and 7 between the coil 50 and the terminal areas 59 is not restricted to the connection to one chip but applies generally to the connection of electronic components comprising terminal areas 59 to the coil 50. In this case it may be also a question, for example, of capacitors.        Furthermore, it becomes clear from FIGS. 6 and 7 that the substrate recess 56 is so dimensioned that it substantially accepts the chip unit 58. With a view to simplifying the alignment of the terminal areas 59 of the chip unit 58 in the course of the placement of the chip unit 58 preceding the actual contacting, the chip unit 58 may be equipped on its contact side 61 comprising the terminal areas 59 with an alignment aid 62 which here is constructed in the manner of a bridge. The alignment aid 62 is dimensioned so as to correspond to the spacing which the initial coil region 51 and the final coil region 52 have from one another in the region of the substrate recess 56 (FIG. 5).        
Further attention is directed in the 089 patent to the following figure and description. Generally, FIG. 12 shows a modified wiring device. More particularly,                FIG. 12 shows, in a modification of the wiring device 22 represented in FIG. 3, a wiring device 91 which, like the wiring device 22 comprises an ultrasonic generator 34. As distinct from the wiring device 22, there is no wire guide fastened to the connection region 35 of the ultrasonic generator 34 but rather a vibrating punch 92 which, as represented in FIG. 12, serves to subject the wire conductor 20 which is guided between a profiled end 93 and the surface of the substrate 21 to the action of mechanical vibrations extending in the longitudinal direction of the vibrating punch 92 and induced by ultrasound. In order in this case to enable reliable guidance of the wire conductor 20, the profiled end 93 is provided with a concave recess which is not represented in FIG. 12 in any detail and which enables partial encompassing of the wire conductor 20.        As distinct from the wiring device 22 represented in FIG. 3, on the wiring device 91 a wire guide 94 is provided which, in the case of the embodiment example represented here, is formed from a guidance tube 95 arranged laterally on the ultrasonic generator 34 with an elbow nozzle 96 which is formed in the direction of the profiled end 93 and which enables lateral supply, here directed obliquely downwards, of the wire conductor 20 in the direction of the profiled end 93. Hence, as represented in FIG. 12, the wire conductor 20 can be guided between the profiled end 93 of the vibrating punch 92 and the surface of the substrate 21 in order to enable the previously described connection to, or alternatively wiring on, or in, the surface of the substrate 21.        Departing from the representation in FIG. 12, it is also possible to provide the wire guide on the wiring device 91, decoupled from the ultrasonic generator 34, in order where necessary to enable vibration-free supply of the wire conductor.        In the case of the embodiment example represented in FIG. 12 the wiring device comprises a wire coil 99 which is capable of rotating about a winding axis 98 arranged transverse to the punch axis 97 and which serves to supply the wire conductor 20 into the wire guide 95.        In order to enable arbitrary wiring of the wire conductor 20 on the surface of the substrate 21, the wiring device 91 comprises, coaxially with respect to the punch axis 97, a pivotal axis 100.        
Further attention is directed in the 089 patent to the following figure and description. Generally, FIG. 13 show a chip card with a transponder unit formed from a wire coil and a chip unit. FIGS. 14 and 15 are more detailed views. More particularly,                FIG. 13 shows a chip-card inlet (sic, “inlet” is the German word for “inlay”) 110 which, with a view to the manufacture of a chip card by way of end product which is not represented in any detail here, is provided with bilateral surface layers which as a rule are applied onto the chip-card inlet in the form of laminated layers covering the surface.        The chip-card inlet 110 consists here of a coil substrate 111 formed from plastic material, onto which a wire coil 112 is applied with the aid of wire-laying technology. To this end a wire conductor 113 is wired on the surface of the coil substrate 111 by means of a wiring instrument which is not represented in any detail in FIG. 13 and is partially embedded into the coil substrate 111 by ultrasonic loading, as can be gathered from FIG. 14.        As is evident furthermore from the representation according to FIG. 13, in the coil substrate 111 a recess 114 is provided which serves to accept a chip unit constituted here by an individual chip 115. The chip unit may, as in the present case, be constituted merely by the chip 115. However, it is further possible for the chip unit to be formed from a so-called “chip module” which accepts one or even several cased chips.        As is further evident from FIG. 13, the wire conductor 113 which is wired for the purpose of forming the wire coil 112 on the coil substrate 111 is contacted with wire ends 116, 117 on an assigned terminal area 118 and 119, respectively, of the chip 115.        A process for implementing the contacting of the wire ends 116, 117 with the terminal areas 118, 119 of the chip 115 will be elucidated in more detail below with reference to FIG. 14. The process represented in detail in FIG. 14 is effected in two successive phases, which here for the purpose of differentiation are denoted by I and II. In the phase designated by I the wire end 116 illustrated here is fixed on the coil substrate 111, whereby simultaneously as a consequence of the aforementioned wiring process for applying the wire conductor 113 onto the surface of the coil substrate 111 the wire conductor 113 is guided away via the chip 115 that is received in the recess 114. With a view to implementing the process represented in FIG. 14, the coil substrate 111 is arranged on a table 120 together with the chip 115 received in the recess 114.        By way of wiring instrument, in the case of the process example represented in FIG. 14 use is made of an ultrasonic instrument 121 which with a vibrating punch 122 embeds the wire conductor 113 which is continuously guided out of a wire guide 123 into the surface of the coil substrate 111 and thereby simultaneously executes a horizontal movement 124 on the surface of the coil substrate 111. This application of the wire conductor 113 on the surface of the coil substrate 111, which is described by the term wirings, is firstly effected in the region designated by Ia to the left of the recess 114, subsequently the wire conductor 113 is guided away with the wire guide 123 via the chip 115 which is arranged in the recess 114, in order finally to continue with the fixation of the wire conductor 113 on the right-hand side of the recess 114 in the region headed by Ib by means of ultrasonic loading of the wire conductor via the vibrating punch 122. Although when use is made of the ultrasonic instrument 121 described above for wiring the wire conductor 113 on the coil substrate 111 a fixation of said wire conductor arises extending substantially over the entire length of the wire conductor 113 on the coil substrate 111, in order to realise the principle of the process it is sufficient if a fixation of the wire conductor 113 on the coil substrate 111 is effected merely at two points to the left and right of the recess 114, in order to achieve the linear alignment of the wire conductor 113 represented in FIG. 14 via the terminal areas 118, 119 of the chip 115.        After the wire conductor 113 is located in the position spanning the assigned terminal area 118 of the chip 115, in the phase denoted by II the connection of the wire conductor 113 to the terminal area 118 is effected. To this end use is made, in the process example represented in FIG. 14, of another ultrasonic instrument 125 which, as is evident in particular from FIG. 15, comprises a profiled end 126 pertaining to a vibrating punch 127 and provided with a concave recess.        The process described above with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15 also offers the possibility, by appropriate choice of the points of fixation of the wire conductor on the substrate, of guiding the wire conductor away diagonally via the terminal areas, in order to increase the overlap between the wire conductor and the terminal areas. Also, several chips or other elements arranged in series on, or in, a substrate can be connected by means of the wire conductor in the manner represented in FIG. 14.        Furthermore, FIG. 15 shows clearly that, in contrast with the vibrational loading 128 induced by ultrasound which is effected in the longitudinal direction of the vibrating punch 122 of the ultrasonic instrument 121, the vibrational loading 129 of the vibrating punch 127 induced by ultrasound is effected transverse to the longitudinal direction of the wire conductor 113 and parallel to the surface of the coil substrate 111. On this vibrational loading 128 a slight contact pressure 130 is superimposed, so that the wire conductor 113 which is received in guided manner in the profiled end 126 of the vibrating punch 127 is moved back and forth in oscillating manner under pressure in the region of the terminal area 118 above the latter. On the one hand this results in any oxide skins that may be present on the terminal area 118 being ripped open and eroded, on the other hand a welding subsequently results, given appropriately high or increased contact pressure 130, of the wire conductor 113, which here is formed from copper, to the aluminium terminal area 118. In case the wire conductor 113 is provided with an external insulation the latter can also be removed by the oscillating movement back and forth in the region of the terminal area 118, so that subsequently the metallic connection previously described between the wire conductor, which immediately beforehand is still protected against oxidation by the insulation, and the terminal area becomes possible.        In the coil substrate 111 represented in FIGS. 14 and 15 the recess 114 is arranged so as to be larger than the corresponding dimensions of the chip 15, so that a circumferential gap 130 results between the chip 115 and the edges of the recess 114. By this means a virtually “floating acceptance” of the chip 115 in the recess 114 is possible, whereby, although said chip is substantially defined in its location relative to the coil substrate 111, it is able to execute minor relative movements. This results in the advantage that, by virtue of the laminating operation described in the introduction for application of the bilateral surface layers onto the coil substrate 111, the chip can at least partially avoid the pressure loads associated with the laminating operation and consequently the risk of damage to the chip in the course of the laminating operation is significantly reduced.        In order also in the case of the “floating acceptance” of the chip in the recess 114 described above to be able to carry out an exact positioning of the wire conductor 113 on the terminal area 118, the wire conductor 113 can be tracked via a corresponding transverse-movement axis 131 of the ultrasonic instrument 125.        Although with reference to the process example represented in FIGS. 14 and 15 two different ultrasonic instruments 121 and 125 were mentioned in the foregoing description, there is also the possibility, given appropriate design of the ultrasonic instrument 121, of making use of the latter both for the wiring and/or fixation of the wire conductor on the surface of the coil substrate 111 and for the connection of the wire conductor 113 to the respectively assigned terminal area 118 or 119.        
Further attention is directed in the 089 patent to the following figure and description. Generally, FIGS. 16 and 17 show an alternate procedure for application and contacting of the chip unit. More particularly,                A way of proceeding that is slightly varied in comparison with FIGS. 14 and 15 is represented in FIGS. 16 and 17, wherein only after fixation of the wire conductor 113 on the surface of the coil substrate 111 on both sides of the recess 114 is a chip 132 introduced into said recess. In order simultaneously with the introduction of the chip 132 into the recess 114 to enable a positioning that is suitable for the subsequent contacting of the wire conductor 113 with an assigned terminal area 133 of the chip 132, the latter is equipped on its contact side 134 with bridge-type alignment aids 135, in each instance arranged adjacent to a terminal area 133, which provide for correct relative positioning via guide bevels 136.        FIG. 17 shows, in addition, a thermode instrument 137 which can be employed as an alternative to the ultrasonic instrument 125 by way of a connecting instrument which enables a connection of the wire conductor under pressure and temperature loading to the assigned terminal area 133. With both of the connection processes represented in FIGS. 14, 15 and 17 there is, in principle, the possibility of establishing the connection between the wire conductor and the terminal areas by a superimposition of ultrasonic loading and temperature loading, for example by means of a heat-able ultrasonic instrument.        
Further attention is directed in the 089 patent to the following figure and description. Generally, FIG. 20 shows an alternative to FIG. 13. More particularly,                FIG. 20 finally shows, in a variant of the representation according to FIG. 13, the possibility of applying the process described above also for the direct contacting of the wire conductor 113 with assigned terminal areas 118 and 119 of the chip 115 if the chip 115 is not arranged in a recess but rather on the surface of a substrate 143. In the case of the substrate 143 represented in FIG. 20 it may be a question, for example, of a paper substrate or of any other substrate. Conforming with the process elucidated with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, here too on both sides of an acceptance region or arrangement region 144 for the chip 115 a fixation is provided of the wire conductor 113 into the surface regions of the substrate 143, here designated in simplified manner by 1a and 1b.         
The wire embedding technology as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,089 and European Patent EP 0 880 754 B1 is the process used to embed insulated copper wire into a substrate, to form an antenna and to interconnect the wire ends to a high frequency RFID chip.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,633, incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, discloses method for producing a smart card module for contactless smart cards. A method for producing a smart card module includes bonding one end of a thin wire onto a first contact zone of a semiconductor chip. The wire is guided in a plurality of turns forming an antenna coil. The wire is bonded onto a second contact area of the semiconductor chip. The wire turns of the antenna coil and the semiconductor chip are placed on a carrier body. More particularly, a method for producing a smart card module, comprises bonding one end of a thin wire onto a first contact zone of a semiconductor chip; guiding the wire in a plurality of turns forming an antenna coil; bonding the wire onto a second contact area of the semiconductor chip; and placing the wire turns of the antenna coil and the semiconductor chip on a carrier body. The guiding step may be performed with a bonding head. The semiconductor chip may be placed in a recess in the carrier body and suspending the semiconductor chip from bonds at the ends of the wire, while carrying out the step of placing the wire turns of the antenna coil and the semiconductor chip on the carrier body.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,364, incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, discloses a high speed system for embedding wire antennas in an array of smart cards. An apparatus for embedding an electrical wire antenna in a non-electrically conductive substrate so as to communicate with an electronic chip mounted on the substrate comprises: a source of antenna wire; an ultrasonic actuator to receive a run of the antenna wire from said source thereof, said ultrasonic actuator having a tip that is adapted to oscillate at an ultrasonic frequency to melt the non-conductive substrate so that said run of antenna wire can be installed there within; and an actuator positioning assembly coupled to said ultrasonic actuator for causing said actuator to move towards and away from the non-conductive substrate by which to enable the tip of said ultrasonic actuator to melt the substrate. The ultrasonic actuator is connected to receive a supply of ultrasonic energy by which to cause the tip thereof to oscillate at said ultrasonic frequency so as to melt the non-conductive substrate whereby said run of antenna wire can be installed there within. The tip of said ultrasonic actuator includes a wire feed channel extending there through, said run of antenna wire being fed from said source thereof through said wire feed channel to be installed within the non-conductive substrate when the non-conductive substrate is ultrasonically melted by said tip. The tip of said ultrasonic actuator has a concave end for ultrasonically melting the non-conductive substrate, said wire feed channel extending through said tip to said concave end thereof.
US Patent Publication 2004/0155114, incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, discloses a method for producing a contactless chip card and chip card produced according to said method. The invention relates to a method for producing a transponder, especially a contactless chip card comprising at least one electronic component (chip module) and at least one antenna; the at least one electronic chip component being disposed on a non-conducting substrate that serves as a support for the component. The at least one antenna is also disposed on a non-conducting substrate, the at least one electronic component being applied to a first substrate and the antenna on a second substrate. The entire circuit is then produced by joining the individual substrates so that they are correctly positioned relative to each other. The components are contacted once the different substrates have been joined by means of auxiliary materials such as solder or glue, or without auxiliary materials by micro-welding. The non-conducting substrates form a base card body.
German Patent Publication DE 196 16 424 A1, incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, discloses connecting wire ends of an antenna to ball contacts a chip. The embedded wire in the form of an antenna wire is embedded into the plastic film in such a way that the terminal ends are drawn over the ball contacts of the chip. The wires are slightly stretched over the chip. Particularly suitable as embedded wires are silver-plated copper wires that are welded to the gold in the ball contacts by means of thermo-compression or glued using silver conductor paste.
German Patent Publication DE 20 2005 016382, incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, discloses wire embedding mechanism for producing an antenna. Wire embedding mechanism to produce transponders with at least one antenna on a surface (1a) of a substrate (1) at a minimum with an ultrasonic sonotrode (13, 18) with an integrated wire guide facility (14) to feed in an antenna wire (15) onto the surface (1a) of the substrate (1) and a heating apparatus (19) to connect the antenna wire (15) with the surface (1a) of the substrate (1), characterized by the arrangement that between the ultrasonic sonotrode (18) and the adjoining heating apparatus (19) a lockable clamp element (20) defines the alignment of the free ends (15c) of the antenna wire (15) with respect to the heating apparatus (19). The described wire embedding mechanism uses a capillary (fine bore) to feed the antenna wire through the ultrasonic sonotrode and to embed the wire into the substrate. The process of producing a transponder on a substrate is as follows: In the first step the wire is connected to the first terminal area by means of thermal compression bonding, in the second step, the wire is embedded into the substrate to form an antenna and in the third step the wire is connected to the second terminal area by means of thermal compression bonding.
International Patent Application PCT/DE2005/001932, incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, discloses in claim 1 a device for embedding wires for a transponder unit on substrates (6), having an ultrasonic horn (12; 119) for embedding the wire (4), and having an ultrasonic converter (10; 120) for application of ultrasound to the ultrasonic horn, characterized in that the wire (4) can be supplied axially to the embedding device (2; 118). The embedding device as in claim 1, wherein a passage channel (14, 15, 44, 54) is provided for guidance of the wire (4) in the embedding device (2; 118), and passes coaxially through it. The embedding device as cited in claims 1 to 12, wherein ultrasound is introduced into the wire (4) in the horizontal direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,778 discloses IC board module for producing an IC board and process for producing an IC board. An IC card module (20) for producing an IC card (118) having at least one coil (46) and at least one chip (23) for the formation of a transponder unit, with the chip and the coil being connected together by way of a module carrier (21) which renders possible not only an electrically conductive connection between the chip and the coil, but also an electrically conductive connection with an external contact face (38) of the module carrier and the chip, wherein the IC card module (20) has a retaining device (41) which is at a distance from the external contact face (38) by an offset R and projects laterally beyond the external contact face, and also a method for producing an IC card with use of such an IC card module.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,288,443 discloses chip module and manufacture of same. A chip module (37) includes a substrate (12) and at least one chip (38) arranged on the substrate, wherein the chip 5 (11) is contacted via its terminal surfaces onto connecting leads (14, 15) of the substrate (12) and has a thickness d which is reduced compared to its original thickness D as a result of a removal of material on its rear side (39).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,818 discloses method and device for bonding a wire conductor. Process and device for the contacting of a wire conductor (113) in the course of the manufacture of a transponder unit arranged on a substrate (111) and comprising a wire coil (112) and a chip unit (115), wherein in a first phase the wire conductor (113) is guided away via the terminal area (118, 119) or a region accepting the terminal area and is fixed on the substrate (111) relative to the terminal area (118, 119) or the region assigned to the terminal area, and in a second phase the connection of the wire conductor (113) to the terminal area (118,119) is effected by means of a connecting instrument (125). A process for the contacting of a wire conductor in the course of the manufacture of a transponder unit arranged on a coil substrate and including a wire coil with wire windings for forming the wire coil on a surface plane of the substrate and a chip unit having a terminal area, the process comprises the steps of in a first phase guiding the wire conductor over and away from a terminal area or a region accepting the terminal area and fixing the wire conductor on the substrate relative to the terminal area or the region assigned to the terminal area; and in a second phase effecting a connection of the wire conductor to the terminal area with a connecting instrument and the wire conductor is connected while being fixed on the coil substrate and extending in parallel to the surface plane of the windings of the wire coil. An ultrasonic instrument is used both as the connecting instrument for the purpose of connecting the wire conductor to the terminal area and for the purpose of arranging the wire coil on the substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,381 discloses contact or contactless chip card with brace. A chip card for contact access and contactless access to a chip arranged in a chip module, wherein the chip module is arranged in a recess (59) of a card body (49) such that outer contact surfaces (51) of the chip module are arranged at the surface (60) of the card body (49) and inner contact surfaces (53) of the chip module are connected to conductor ends (55, 56) of a coil (57) arranged in the card body to form a transponder unit, where the coil has the form of a wire coil (57) and the depth (t) of the recess (59) which accommodates the chip module is such that wire ends (55, 56) arranged in the region of the recess (59) have a contact flattening (63) formed by the machining process for the formation of the recess (59).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,230 discloses procedure for producing a chip mounting board and chip-mounting board thus produced. Procedure for producing a transponder unit (55) provided with at least one chip (16) and one coil (18), and in particular a chip card/chip-mounting board (17) wherein the chip and the coil are mounted on one common substrate (15) and the coil is formed by installing a coil wire (21) and connecting the coil-wire ends (19, 23) to the contact surfaces (20, 24) of the chip on the substrate. The chip and the coil are mounted on one common substrate and the coil is formed by installing a coil wire and connecting the coil-wire ends to the contact surfaces of the chip on the substrate. As a first step prior to the installation of the coil wire, one coil-wire end is connected to a first contact surface of the chip, the coil wire is then installed to form the coil, whereupon the leading end of the coil wire is connected to a second contact surface of the chip, while in the process of the coil-wire installation the coil wire (21) is bonded to the substrate at least in some locations.
Glossary & Definitions
Unless otherwise noted, or as may be evident from the context of their usage, any terms, abbreviations, acronyms or scientific symbols and notations used herein are to be given their ordinary meaning in the technical discipline to which the disclosure most nearly pertains. The following terms, abbreviations and acronyms may be used throughout the descriptions presented herein and should generally be given the following meaning unless contradicted or elaborated upon by other descriptions set forth herein. Some of the terms set forth below may be registered trademarks(®).    chip As used herein, the word “chip” can encompass many configurations of a silicon die or a packaged chip. The silicon die for example can have metalized bumps to facilitate the direct connection of the wire ends of an antenna to form a transponder or tag device. A package chip can include various structures such as a tape automated bonding module, a chip module, a flip chip module, a lead frame, a chip carrier, a strap, an interposer or any form of packaging to facilitate transponder manufacturing.    inlay An inlay substrate typically has a plurality, such as array of transponder sites on a substrate which matches the position of the data or graphics on a printed sheet or holder/cover page of a smart card or electronic passport respectively.            A secure inlay is similar to a conventional inlay but with additional features such as an additional RFID chip on the transponder site storing information about the production processes in the value chain as well as having personalization features integrated into the inlay such as a hologram, an anti-skimming material or security codes embedded into the inlay.            ISO 7810 Defines the size and shape of cards. All credit cards and debit cards, and most ID are the same shape and size, as specified by the ISO 7810 standard. Smart cards follow specifications set out in ISO 7816, and contactless smart cards follow the ISO 14443 specification.    ISO 7816 Regarding smart card, ISO7816 defines specification of contact interface IC chip and IC card.    ISO 10536 Defines the operation of close coupling for contactless cards    ISO 14443 ISO 14443 RFID cards; contactless proximity cards operating at 13.56 MHz in up to 5 inches distance. ISO 14443 defines the contactless interface smart card technical specification.    ISO 15693 ISO standard for contactless integrated circuits, such as used in RF-ID tags. ISO 15693 RFID cards; contactless vicinity cards operating at 13.56 MHz with up to 20 inches of read range. (ISO 15693 is typically not used for financial transactions because of its relatively long range as compared with ISO 14443.)    RFID Short for “Radio Frequency Identification”. An RFID device interacts, typically at a limited distance, with a “reader”, and may be either “passive” (powered by the reader) or “active” (having its own power source, such as a battery).    tag As used herein, “tag” refers to a transponder or transponder site on an inlay . . . and may be distinguished from “inlay” . . .    transponder As used herein, a transponder is an RFID chip (either passive or active) connected to an antenna.
Long range classification includes RFID systems that operate 866-868 MHz (EU), 915 (US) 2.5 GHz and 5.8 GHz.
UHF Tags
Passive UHF RFID systems typically communicate using frequencies at 866 MHz and 915 MHz with a maximum read range of 10 meters (approximately 30 feet) under ideal conditions. However, this does not preclude UHF from near field and near contact applications as UHF systems can be easily tailored to meet lower range requirements. This can be accomplished by reducing power at the reader, reducing the size of the reader antenna, and/or reducing the size of the tag antenna. Ideally, the antenna should have a physical length approximately one-half wavelength of the chip's operating frequency.
By varying the impedance of the antenna (i.e. adding additional conductor portions adjacent to the elements of the antenna), the resonant frequency may be adjusted to compensate for operating environment conditions.